Extreme Cold

Hello dear friends of nature! Do you know the feeling of having to leave the house at -10 degrees Celsius and wanting to hide behind the warm oven until spring starts?

This feeling is evoked by your own comfort zone. This individual comfort zone is the area in which we feel safe and comfortable. Our brain is responsible for the comfort zone - it wants to protect us from potential dangers. That's why we prefer to sit by the warm stove instead of exposing ourselves to the danger of the cold in snow and ice.

One of my personal lessons from recent years is the following: 99% of the really interesting experiences, stories, and photos are taken outside our own comfort zone.

Outside the comfort zone is where it starts to get really exciting. That's where the craziest things happen. In the following pictures, I would like to show you a small example.

In December 2015, my girlfriend and I set off on a 3,500 kilometre road trip from Finland to Norway. Our first stop after 850 kilometres: a half open wooden shack somewhere south of Kilpisjärvi.

The night outside can be summed up with two words - beautiful and extreme.

The beautiful thing: The northern lights. The extreme: -17°C

The extreme cold demanded a lot from us, but thanks to thermal underwear, sleeping bags suitable for winter and a big fire, we survived the night well. Looking at the photos afterwards, I am glad that we had the courage to leave our comfort zone. Lying outside at -17°C in the Finnish winter and watching the northern lights for hours was one of the most beautiful experiences I have had so far.

Nevertheless, we decided to rent a cabin in Kilpisjärvi for the next night - with a sauna, of course ;)

Please do not plan the above mentioned experiences without sufficient precautions. Dangerous frostbite with bad equipment can be the consequence.

Ingmar´s local impressions

About the author

Hello guys! My name is Ingmar Wein, I’m 22 years old and my home ist the wonderful „Black Forest“ in southwestern of Germany!

In 2015/2016 I lived more than a whole year in Finland – an incredible calm and beautiful country in the North. In this time I’ve developed a strong passion for taking photographs including all conditions – also -30° couldn’t prevent me from going outside and taking pictures! Beside the photography I recognized a deep connection to nature. The silence, the beauty and the feeling of timelessness in nature are the most beautiful experiences a human can have. That’s why I want to inspire people finding their way back into nature and leaving the troubles of the daily routine behind! ☺

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